3 reasons why Manchester City won't be sealing the title against Manchester United

April 7, would see Manchester United travel to the other half of the city to face their rivals Manchester City who have all but lifted the Premier League trophy this season.

The game would be a highly anticipated encounter as the top two teams in the league lock horns at the Etihad. City are in commendable form and appear to be in an unmatched stride.

A win for Pep Guardiola's men would see them being the champions of England officially whereas any possible point for United would all but ensure the second spot for them.

That said, here is a look at the reasons why Pep Guardiola would have to wait to wrap the Premier League on some other day than the Manchester derby.

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#3 The bus parking

Jose parked the bus last time he visited Etihad.

It would be no surprise what Jose would be asking his troops to do at the Etihad. In such a crucial game, where the pride of the club is on line, it should not be difficult to imagine United simply sitting deep.

In the past, Jose has pocketed some big teams like Pep's Barcelona, to deprive them of three points.

If United manage to hold City, just like they did last year in the same fixture, they can keep the scoreboard unaltered. It would be enough to avoid the sight of City celebrating as the champions of England after thrashing their biggest rivals.

In such an event, Jose would certainly be grinning in his post-match press-briefing.

#2 Romelu Lukaku

Lukaku finally appears to be the CF United have been craving for

Chelsea craved for a proper CF when they visited the Etihad last month. They managed to get the ball forward but had no one to drag the City defence into mayhem. United have the missing weapon in they didn't.

In Romelu Lukaku, they have a player tailor-made for the hold-up play. The Belgian's form was a matter of concern for Jose but the player is brimming with confidence at the moment.

The striker has fought his way back to form and recently he has bagged crucial goals for the Red Devils. His performance against Chelsea earned him the Man of the Match award.

Against Liverpool, he had a terrific day bull-dozing Dejan Lovren. He has bagged 26 goals in all competitions so far.

If United manage to get their striker on the ball often, he could drag the opponents out of their positions. Thereby, leaving Alexis Sanchez, Jesse Lingard or Anthony Martial in a position to cause sufficient problems to the City defence which practically never looks affirming.

#1 Jose's effective resistance

Jose gave City a tough time at Old Trafford.

The only man who has managed to scare Guardiola with his mastermind regularly is Jose Mourinho.

The fact would appear totally unacceptable to some readers, but here is the explanation for the same. To begin with, "resistance", here, means the ability to put the opposition in a position where they cannot play their natural football and have to get back to the drawing board.

This is the reason why Liverpool's 4-3 victory has been ignored here. Manchester City was playing their natural attacking football at Anfield, it was only the high press by Klopp's men that secured, or to be honest, salvaged the maximum points for the Reds.

When Manchester City visited Old Trafford in December, they went home with all three points. However, the ones who have seen the match would know that Jose did manage to break Guardiola's "beautiful" football.

City appeared nowhere near their best and thanks to Lukaku's mistakes they clinched a victory. Their star-man Kevin de Bruyne wasn't getting the through balls at his will, City had to look for other options to open United up.

Manchester United was let down by their mistakes and lack of creativity throughout the match. Had they managed to spurn a few more chances, a draw would not have been a surprising result.

Therefore, if Jose can make a few tweaks in his team's creativity room, the game would be no walk in the park for Guardiola's men.